Tech Link (Motherboard): Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 Intel P35 Motherboard Review

PCStats posted an article about the newest board from Gigabyte. Not surprisingly, the board sports the newest chipset from Intel and it performs as it should. Expand to read the verdict from PCStats.

P35 Performance Verdict: Similar to P965, but just a bit faster

In terms of performance The Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 and the Intel P35 Express chipset are slightly faster than the previous generation P965, but the differences between the platforms won't truly be appreciated till quad core processors are readily available. Quad core CPUs will benefit from the added bandwidth the P35 Express delivers. As it is now, if you're a gamer you will notice a slight performance boost when moving to the P35 platform over a vanilla Intel P965 Express. There's little to no difference though for basic workstation tasks.

The Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 showed the awesome overclocking potential of the Intel P35 Express chipset, hitting a very nice speed of 482 MHz FSB! We're positive the motherboard had more in it, but the E6600 processor was most likely holding things back. Those of you with water or phase change cooling systems will definitely like what Gigabyte has to offer here. When it comes to overclocking, you'll love the awesome voltage options!

The Intel P35 Express has a bright future and probably is the best way to go if you plan on upgrading to a Core 2 Quad processor. The Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 is a little quicker than comparable P965 motherboards, full of features and fast, but it comes with a steep price tag.

Find out about this and many other reviews by joining the Weekly PCstats.com Newsletter today! Catch all of PCSTATS latest reviews right here.

Source:Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 Intel P35 Motherboard Review

Tech Link (Event): XtremeSystems @ Computex

Looks like there will be lots of overclocking session in the upcoming Computex 2007 event. I am looking forward to seeing new innovative products from different vendors, from the typical to the extra ordinary. Anyway, I am getting a bit carried away, XS team is invited and will be at the site for some live demonstration power of overclocking. Check out the thread at XS.

Misc: Clarification on Barcelona Benchmark

Last week, I blogged about a V8 8-core system beating a Barcelona 16-core system. However, at the link posted, I am a bit lost since there was no mention of the Barcelona benchmark on the YouTube video, and there was no link about Barcelona hard numbers from the source. Anyway, I just got another email last Saturday (sorry, I just got time to blog it now) that apparently, there is indeed a Barcelona benchmark.

For those who haven't seen the YouTube video, check this out...

Brag: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Overclock (Stock Cooler)

It seems that I am really lagging behind posting some items on my Blog. Anyway, I just want to share the 50% overclock of the quad core Kenstfield under the Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 branding. At this speed, all I can say is that it's awesome and the CPU fan is silent even at full load.

Don't expect any benchmark, I have posted several benchmarks on the Intel® Core™ 2 QX Extreme Edition series as well as on the Intel® Xeon® X32xx series. What I just wanted to share here is how easy it is to overclock the quad core on the current i965P platform. If you are looking for a brand spanking new system, I suggest you go and get a quad-core based system. You may click on the CPU-Z for the validation...

Brag: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E4500 Arrives...

I know it's not much of a news, but hey, it's still a new toy to be happy about. The processor should be attractive to overclockers who are looking for high frequency with low FSB. The good thing with this processor is that, some motherboards, like Asus' P5B-Deluxe, can have the ability to lower down the multiplier making the processor very flexible with adjusting the multi and FSB. Click on the image for the CPU-Z Validation...

Press Release: PC Power & Cooling Joins the OCZ Technology Group

This must be one of the best move OCZ can do this year, aside from introducing uber RAMs. OCZ has been very agressive with the PSU market, yet they still can't compete with PCP&C when it comes to stability and reliability. Sure, their existing OCZ PSUs do rock, but the enthusiast favorite has always been the server-grade PCP&C. Expand to read the full press release...

Sunnyvale, Calif.—May 25, 2007—OCZ today announced immediate plans to bring PC Power & Cooling into the OCZ Technology Group. As a worldwide leader in high performance computer hardware, OCZ acquired PC Power & Cooling to utilize their keen expertise in power management and take the organization to the next level. This compelling partnership between the two like-minded companies will create a powerful fusion of patented technologies, innovative, high quality PC components, and improved accessibility of premium solutions for customers worldwide. All parties, including the consumer, will benefit from the acquisition; the combined company is now situated to deliver ground-breaking power solutions to meet the growing demand for efficient, high performance components to power the computing needs of gaming, enthusiast, and mission-critical systems builders alike.

With OCZ and PC Power & Cooling joining forces, the result is a solid partnership aimed at delivering superior solutions to end-users. Combining technical strengths, R&D resources, and complementary proficiencies, the new OCZ Technology Group intends to go above and beyond consumer expectations in quality, service, and hi-tech leadership. As the time-honored frontrunner in best-in-class power solutions, only PC Power & Cooling can redefine and develop the market’s standards of performance, as it has done for the past twenty-two years since its inception in 1985. Previously, PC Power & Cooling solutions were only available to US customers through their online store and a few select resellers and retail outlets. Under the OCZ Technology Group, PC Power & Cooling products will gain the exposure of the established OCZ global channel, maximizing the availability of the reputable line to customers everywhere.

All OCZ and PC Power & Cooling product lines will benefit from the new collaboration efforts. Moving forward, PC Power & Cooling’s complete line of power supplies will become the premium-grade PSU collection from OCZ, and will continue to be branded under the PC Power & Cooling brand. In addition to combining current product lines, the focus of OCZ and PC Power & Cooling is to take innovation and industry leadership to new heights. As the founder and CEO of PCP&C, Doug Dodson, moves into the position of Chief Technology Officer at OCZ, the integration of his expertise will set new standards for OCZ product development and innovation. OCZ’s popular high performance memory modules, PSUs, and flash memory will continue to evolve ahead of the times and stay attuned to the needs of the industry. The outcome is a greatly differentiated range of OCZ and PCP&C solutions available worldwide that addresses the complete spectrum of applications.

“OCZ and PC Power & Cooling are both technology leaders that share a common passion for delivering premium solutions to consumers,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology Group. “By bringing these two established companies together we are able to leverage the strengths of each organization and accelerate the development of cutting edge products for a variety of markets. We believe that collectively OCZ and PC Power & Cooling will build on our combined heritage to revolutionize high end computing."

"As an expansion partner, I believe we have found in OCZ the ideal fit for the culture and approach of PC Power & Cooling," said Doug Dodson, founder and CEO of PCP&C. "In my new role as Chief Technology Officer, I will focus on maintaining PC Power's lead in proven ultra high-performance with the Turbo-Cool line, and in value and quiet computing with the Silencer line, as well as provide guidance for the continuing improvement of OCZ's power management solutions. I am excited about the improved accessibility of PC Power & Cooling products and I am confident that our rich tradition of reliability and innovation will continue to strengthen as a part of the OCZ Technology Group."

Building on a shared understanding and mutual enthusiasm for leading-edge computer technology, OCZ and PC Power & Cooling will seamlessly unify to represent the pinnacle of performance. Look for all of OCZ Technology Group's current and future products in its worldwide network of distributors, e-tailers, and retail stores.

Source:PC Power & Cooling Joins the OCZ Technology Group

Tech Link (Processor): 8 Intel cores faster than 16 AMD cores!

I just got this info from a friend, apparently, uberplus err uberpulse managed to snag a benchmark of a whooping 16core-based Barcelona. I am not really sure I understand the video interview, but they compared a Penryn with Kentsfiled, I have yet to see why Barcelona was even mentioned. Check it out...

At the Microprocessor Forum, Intel demoed its V8 workstation running the POV-Ray benchmark. The machine is equipped with Intel's Workstation Board S5000XVN, 2 quad-core Xeons 5365, clocked at 3GHz and 16GB RAM. And the results are simply impressive: Intel scored over 4,900 pixels per seconds versus a little bit over 4,000 for AMD's 4 sockets quad-core (Barcelona) system. Again, this is an AMD 16 cores system versus Intel's 8 cores V8 machine.

If you take 16 cores at 1.8Ghz, divided by 2 and add 60% to get to 3.0Ghz, it gives POV-Ray score of 3600 for 8 cores. Meaning that at 3.0GHz, Barcelona still lose by quite some compare to an 8 cores Clowertown system.

"Why do you need 16 cores, when you can do better with 8. Our 8 core system is 30% faster than the 16 core machine AMD showed to the press yesterday. I just don't understand how they can claim to be 40% faster", said Francois Piednoel, an Intel engineer present at the show.

Well, now AMD has some explanation to do and sooner rather than later. Because if they can't figure out what happened with those POV-Ray results they showed us, that's the end of it. At the show, Intel also demoed a system with a 45nm Penryn quad-core processor (shipping by year end, about the same time than Barcelona!) that is 40% faster than the top of the line quad-core generation, the Core 2 Extreme processor QX6800. Wow!

Source:8 Intel cores faster than 16 AMD cores!

Tech Link (Motherboard): Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi AP with DDR3

BitTech has posted a review of the new board from Asus*, based on Intel's newest chipset in town, supporting DDR3. While the crew at BitTech gave it a perfect 10 in features, the "value" is at low score of just 5. Over all, they gave the board a 7, but I am not really sure if it reflects the experience, as the score seems to be the "average" of (10 + 6 + 5) / 3 thingamajig. Check out the Final Thoughs by expanding this news post...

Final Thoughts
Apart from the ton of features and excellent stability, the board doesn't offer any spectacular performance and is far more expensive than the competition, or even other Asus boards. You'd be far better off investing in anything DDR2, rather than forcing yourself down and extremely expensive upgrade path. It will allow some future proofing, but by that time in 12-18 months, you might as well upgrade the motherboard with a newer chipset which will undoubtedly support faster DDR3 modules and newer features as well.

It's a really weird situation because it's genuinely a really good board, but there's absolutely no reason to buy it. Get the P5K Deluxe or something P965 or nForce 680i (LT) SLI instead... oh and a ton of performance DDR2, a large monitor, a better graphics card and perhaps a new car or apartment as well. You know, the same kind of money you would have spent on the P5K3 Deluxe and DDR3.

It you're after CrossFire support to match a couple of Radeon HD 2900 XTs you've just bought (I'm assuming you run Vista here) and are dying for an updated chipset rather than the antique 975X, then you've either got to settle for the DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200 T2R/G, or wait until September for X38. However, X38 will also be DDR3, sooo I'd just buy the DFI...

Source:Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi AP with DDR3

Misc: Weary

Don't you just feel it sometimes, when you tried to get a rest and it seems very elusive? Juggling work, and family is getting tougher as time passed by.

Anyway, I don't want to rant too much on this Blog, but my Blog seems to be, well, tedious to maintain as well. It was fun when I started it way back 2005. I don't have much visitors back then, but even with a nice Google hits for my site, I am feeling tired to upload contents anymore.

Oh well, if you suddenly see no update from the site, then I'm probably going to sign off soon.

Laters....

Tech Link (Platform): Intel V8 Eight-Core Platform Preview

It's a slow news day today so I am just sharing a preview done by XBitLabs on the "V8" platform (isn't it annoying that AMD have a "FASN8"). Anyway, XBitLabs are impressed with the performance. But if you are a regular FanBoy TechWeb visitor, you'll know that I have done a quick benching of this system for quite some time already. I first post about Clovertown 2xQuad-Core (total of 8 cores) here and posted initial benchmark here. Expand to read the article from XBitLabs...

Conclusion

Our experience with Intel V8 platform made an unforgettable impression. The obtained benchmark results are so high that we do not hesitate to call it the today’s world’s fastest system for multi-threaded work. This desktop and workstation platform with two quad-core Xeon processors demonstrates unattainable performance in all SMP optimized applications.

However, everything we have just said is true mostly because there are no other eight-core systems in the market today that could compete with Intel V8. Therefore, when the new AMD FASN8 with quad-core CPUs on K10 micro-architecture comes out, situation may change. Especially, since Intel V8 has a few disadvantages originating from its server roots.

First of all, the FB DDR2 memory subsystem in the eight-core monster from Intel is implemented in not the most optimal way. Its latency is too high, which affects the system performance in some widespread applications. Secondly, i5000X based workstation mainboards used for Intel V8 systems cannot suit enthusiasts in the best possible way. They have a lot of functions that no enthusiasts will ever use, but at the same time offer nothing for processor overclocking. And thirdly, Intel V8 platform limits the user’s ability to create a high-performance video subsystem. There are very few mainboards on i5000X chipset that offer slots for two graphics cards, but even they do not allow to use SLI and Crossfire configurations in full power, only as PCI Express x16 + PCI Express x4.

That is why before we make any final conclusions about the future of Intel V8 platform as a great eight-core solution for enthusiasts, we would like to wait a little bit until we get a chance to test the AMD FASN8 platform featuring two next-generation quad-core processors. New Phenom FX CPUs (known under Agena FX codename) are expected to arrive in Q3 2007, so there is not much waiting left. Besides, from what we know already we can say that AMD Quad FX as well as the upcoming FASN8 will be more enthusiast-friendly judging by their features.

Anyway, we will be able to dot all i’s only when we get our hands on the new competitor in this segment, and right now Intel V8 deserves the laurels of an ultimate leader.

Source:Intel V8 Eight-Core Platform Preview

Tech Link (Chipset): Intel P35 Bearlake Motherboard And DDR3 Memory – Asus and Corsair

The lucky folks over at HotHardware managed to get themselves some cool motherboard and memory to play with. They have tested DDR3 and the newest motherboard from Asus with the latest chipset from Intel. They are pretty much happy with the results, check out the conclusion...

Performance Summary:
Over the course of our testing, we saw the new Intel P35 chipset and DDR3 memory combination offer up gains in the 2 - 5% range in various applications. This was largely attributed to the new Intel MCH and its improved access latency characteristics. There were several occasions where the P35 chipset driven Asus P5K3 Deluxe out-paced its 965 counterpart with the same DDR2 memory running in its DIMM slots. In terms of DDR3 memory, it's obvious the technology is still maturing somewhat but at its higher clock speeds, especially with a correspondingly higher FSB, there are significant gains to be had.



Intel's new Bearlake chipset family is off to a great start with the P35. Our first time out with this new chipset showed surprisingly good stability and performance with obvious headroom for growth. One look at a 1733MHz DDR3 clock speed and you can't help but get a little bit excited for what the future holds. The only caveat will be how quickly latency settings can be brought in line.

At this point in the game, if you were building a new system for work or pleasure, its probably doesn't make sense to spring for a DDR2 driven version of one of these new P35 motherboards, like the Asus P5K we tested. The product simply will have a more finite life-span with the inevitable migration to DDR3. In addition, DDR3 has a bit of growing-up to do for the next few months, so we'd recommend users wait and see what second generation products coming down the pipe will offer perhaps. Refinements in motherboard design are bound to be forthcoming, as well as tighter timings for DDR3.

Though, if you're itching for something to tinker with and spending a little extra cash on being an early adopter isn't out of the norm for you, we'd say jump in, the water is just fine. The P35 chipset with its snappy new memory controller impressed us more-so than many chipset product launches of late and we've seen plenty. What's perhaps more exciting is the upcoming X38 chipset with PCI Express 2.0 technology and a few extra lanes integrated with the chipset to boot. It's always hard to judge the entry point with a new platform but these are good problems to have.

Source:Intel P35 Bearlake Motherboard And DDR3 Memory – Asus and Corsair

Tech Link (Game): Starcraft 2 is real!

This must be the best news ever for the long time fans of the Starcraft game. I, for one, am so delighted to know that the successor to the one of most succesful RTS game of all time is more than just a rumor, but a reality. This announcement renewed my excitement as a gamer, as I have been lagging behind in playing any kind of game.

The announcement is actually just part of my excitement, but what really blows my mind the fact that it is still an RTS. World of Warcraft is a big dissapointment for me, after Blizzard decided to port this game into MMORPG, I begun to shy away from the game. Warcraft III and Frozen Throne are great games, but WoW is just a bummer for me.

Of course, I am not saying Blizzard is a bad company for wanting to make money, it's the fact of life that business is there to make money. They are living up to their promise of providing great game, and my friends who are WoW players swear how good it is. Of course, there are quirks, but nothing is perfect. I tried it for 10days, then played with it whenever I can (usually, less than an two hours per month) before I gave up as I don't really like that genre.

Anyway, I will surely be refreshing the official website from time to time to read up more on the developments of the game. And don't forget to watch out the game trailers and demo gameplay, it rocks big time.

Check out more about this game on Blizzard.

Tech Link (Operating System): Vista Service Pack 1: It lives

I just saw it on my email InBox, zdnet Blogger Marley Jo Farley blogged about an alleged Service Pack One for Vista. Below is the screenshot referred by Farley, which links to the article over at WinHEC 2007.. Expand if you would like to read the Blog from Farley..

With all the Microsoft-created confusion out there around when — and even whether — the company plans to deliver the first service pack (SP) for Windows Vista, it’s nice to see some concrete proof that Vista SP1 does exist.

The WinFuture.de folks managed to grab a quick snapshot of a machine running a build of Vista SP1 during one of the Rally talks at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles this week. Plain as day, it says: “Windows Build 6001 Service Pack 1, v113.”)

I also saw a PowerPoint slide mentioning the existence of Vista SP1 during a WinHEC chalk talk on “The Future of Input” at this week’s show. (The context: A shim for the kernel-mode driver foundation version of the digitizer driver will ship as a Windows Driver Kit sample in Vista SP1. That was it.)

Given all the mumbo-jumbo coming from the Windows brass lately about SP1, I actually was starting to wonder whether Microsoft might to try to go without one and just use Automatic Update and Windows Update Services to roll out all of the Vista fixes and updates.

I asked Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry before the Vista SP1 screen-shot sighting this week whether he thought Microsoft might try to do away with client service packs, starting with Vista. Cherry’s response:

“It appears that a number of people within Microsoft think that the full fledged service pack is no longer needed, because Windows Update provides a mechanism to get fixes to customers. Because everyone can download the fixes they need as soon as they are released, there is less need have rollups or service packs.

“The only thing keeping me thinking they would do a service pack was to formalize the delivering of the PatchGuard API (application programming interface) to the software vendors who need it.

“Key to keep in mind when discussing Service Packs–I can find nothing that obligates Microsoft to produce any. Any killing them kills the ‘wait for SP1 mindset.’”

Now we just need an SP1 date, beyond the “simultaneous with Longhorn Server” one that Microsoft execs provided last year. Anyone got any updated SP1 timing info to share?

Source:Vista Service Pack 1: It lives

Tech Link (Motherboard): abit AB9 QuadGT

HardOCP has an article posted about Abit*'s motherboard. The QuadGT is not something I can call new, as it's been out in the market for quite some time. Check it out...

Conclusion

Morry's Thoughts:
abit has done it again with the AB9 QuadGT motherboard. They’ve successfully delivered a high performance, high stability solution pushing the technological envelopes as well. The board comes standard with high performance all metal-solid state capacitors, as well as digital power regulation circuitry for the CPU. The board layout and heat pipe design were well thought out as well, with the rear panel CMOS switch, onboard power and reset buttons, and 2-digit diagnostic display as added in gravy.

My only complaint with the board – not being able to make the 500MHz overclock club with it. I tried my best and came as close as possible. However, a 475MHz overclock is in no way anything to be shunned, especially given the fact that that FSB speed forces the CPU to run at almost 2x its rated speed.

What more can I say here? It appears that for all intents and purposes that abit is back ladies and gentlemen, and they are gunning for the top spot as always. The AB9 QuadGT hails to the glory days of abit, and is definitely not a board to be passed up. Give this one a good hard look it you’re looking to upgrade…

Kyle's Thoughts:
abit was the company that got me into the hardware review business so many years ago, so they have always been one of my favorite motherboard builders over the years. That is not to say they did not miss the mark a couple of times in the last decade, but in the recent past they have somewhat fallen off of the enthusiast radar, including my own. With the new Universal abit company formed we were promised motherboards that were engineered like abit motherboards of the past, but until now Universal abit has pulled up short. The AB9 QuadGT is the best true enthusiast motherboard that abit has made in a long time. Hopefully the QuadGT will pave the way for more quality enthusiast motherboards behind it.

The Bottom Line
The abit AB9 QuadGT is a Core 2 Quad ready enthusiast motherboard that is truly worthy of the abit legacy. It has a tremendously stable and solid build and is a motherboard that we would not hesitate to use ourselves. All but the most hardcore overclockers are going to be very satisfied with this motherboard.

Source:abit AB9 QuadGT

Tech Link (Benchmark): Rydermark Benchmark Preview

Looks like there's an upcoming contender for FutureMark when it comes to 3D benchmarking standard. I haven't tested it personally, but from the pictures, I find the interface ugly. Madshrimps posted their review and they even posted a nice short video clip of the said application. Check it out....

The minimum requirements for the Rydermark benchmark are set at:

# 3.0GHz Single Core CPU
# 1Gb system RAM
# DirectX 9-class GPU with 128Mb RAM
# Sound card with support for DirectSound 3D
# Windows XP & DirectX 9.0c

For the time being Rydermark is a Windows XP/DX9 only benchmark, maybe DX10 in the future under Vista.

Rydermark comes with an interesting readme which gives a bit of background information on the benchmark:

# Can we relate the benchmark performance to actual games performance?

Absolutely. RyderMark is a technology demonstration of a racing game currently in development. It is NOT a synthetic benchmark. Just like the game, in addition to the GPU, the benchmark also stresses the CPU, audio and memory subsystems.

The graphics is powered by Sahara, our in-house DirectX 9 graphics engine. Audio is provided by FMOD Sound System (www.fmod.org) which has already been used in dozens of games titles. Therefore, every technology used in the benchmark is directly relevant to the game.

# Do you have different shaders for GPUs from different manufacturers?

ABSOLUTELY NOT. This is something we wish to make crystal clear. We run IDENTICAL shader code on GPUs from all hardware manufacturers.

To reiterate the point, one of the main reasons we can stake the claim for creating a truly impartial and fair benchmark is the fact that we do not favor any hardware manufacturer over another by supporting obscure or optional texture formats or features in DirectX.

# How is the final RyderMark score calculated?

The final benchmark score is calculated as follows:

RyderMark Score = 20X Maximum Frame Rate + 40X Minimum Frame
Rate

# Why do you value the minimum frame rate much more than the maximum frame rate?

From our perspective as a games developer, we place a very high value on smooth gameplay. This requires a minimum of 30 frames per second at all times. At the same time, peak frame rates over 60 frames per second make no discernible difference to the gameplay experience.

Therefore, we urge users to look closely at the minimum frame rate as well as the overall score. PCs which fail to deliver a consistent minimum 30 frames per second may not provide an enjoyable gaming experience in next generation games.

# Can you describe some of the different shaders and technologies used in RyderMark?

These are some, but not all of the techniques used in the benchmark:
- Parallax Occlusion Mapping
- Motion blur
- Depth of field
- Soft shadows
- 32-bit and 64-bit HDR Lighting
- Fully dynamic lighting
- Intensive particle effects
- Dynamic reflections
- Refraction
- Normal mapping

Source:Rydermark Benchmark Preview

Tech Link (Memory): Intel Initiates Widespread DDR3 Memory Chips Validation Ahead of New Platform Launch.

Looks like chipzilla is making sure that all is smooth as marble by the time they launch a platform based on DDR3. It;s all good, check out the news from XBitLabs.

Intel Corp., the world’s largest supplier of x86 central processing units and supporting chipsets, has begun to publish details about next-generation DDR3 memory chips that are certified to be compatible with the company’s forthcoming core-logic sets. So far seven of the world’s top dynamic random access memory suppliers have received validation from Intel.

So far Elpida Memory, Hynix Semiconductor, Micron Technology, Qimonda AG, Nanya and Samsung Electronics have received validation of their DDR3 memory chips from Intel. The list of validated memory modules is currently located at Intel’s web-site, days before the company plans to release its new platforms that use the new type of DRAM.

So far Intel has validated 512Mb and 1Gb memory chips with 800MHz and 1066MHz clock-speeds as well as CL5 5-5, CL6 6-6, CL7 7-7 or even CL8 8-8 latency settings. Specifications of Intel-validated memory components seem to be very conservative, as initially the company’s P35 and G33 chipsets will only support PC3-8500 (DDR3 1066MHz) memory, while more advanced X38 core-logic is set to support PC3-10600 (DDR3 1333MHz) memory speed in the third quarter of the year.

DDR3 memory is designed to increase performance and lower power consumption of DDR2 memory utilized today. The new memory standard features relatively low operating voltage of 1.5V, 8-bit pre-fetch architecture (compared to 4-bit pre-fetch buffer with DDR2), on-die termination (ODT), power-saving modes known as PASR (partial array self refresh) and ASR (auto self refresh) and some other capabilities.

The DDR3 memory will be able to operate at up to 1600MHz, but in the exchange for enhanced latencies of CAS (column address strobe) 5 to 10 (compared to CAS 3-6 on DDR2). Even though CL7 latency setting is considerably higher compared to CL5 of DDR2 at the same frequency, improved pre-fetch and other technical advantages of DDR3 versus DDR2 may help the new memory type to be as fast or even faster compared to the previous-gen one.

Demand for DDR3 is expected to emerge towards the end of the year. According to market research firm iSuppli, DDR3 will account for 25% of total DRAM shipments by the end of 2008 and dominate the market by 2010.

Source:Intel Initiates Widespread DDR3 Memory Chips Validation Ahead of New Platform Launch.

Tech Link (GPU): AMD's Next-Gen GPU Is Here! (Or Is It?)

Instead of reading thru all the reviews and sorting out the worthy ones from scrap, I found a blog post summarizing most, if not all, of the conclusion and thoughts about the new video card. I will not sugar coat it, the new AMD/ATi video card sucks major behind. Don't get this video card, it's bad for your wallet and your electric consumption. Expand to check out the gathered conclusion from PC World Game On blogger.

* Check the following sampling of conclusions about the HD 2900 XT ($399 MSRP) from a few of the enthusiast sites, with links to their reviews below each quote. (While the HD 2900 XT is available as of today, the lower-end cards are paper launches only, with a July 1 street date.)

"As it stands right now the Radeon HD 2900 XT, in our opinion, is a flop."

- [H]ard|OCP

"If ATI can lick the noise issue, we would recommend this card over all others in its price range, even despite the power requirements."

- Extreme Tech

"[AMD has] delivered a pretty good value in a $399 graphics card, so long as you're willing to overlook its higher power draw and noise output while you're gaming."

- The Tech Report

"AMD might not have retaken the performance crown but that does not mean that the GPU’s [sic] still are not impressive."

- Bjorn 3D

"Not the fastest video card in the market for sure, but definitely holds it's [sic] own at it's [sic] current price-point."

- VR-Zone

"Everybody was expecting and hoping for a product that would wipe the floor clean with NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX/Ultra. That's just not the case. Performance wise the Radeon HD 2900 XT has a very hard time coming even close to these product [sic] in a lot of scenarios."

- Guru 3D

Source:AMD's Next-Gen GPU Is Here! (Or Is It?)

Misc: Election Day Today

There will be no news or topics today, I am watching how the election process will turn out. I don't plan to go out and vote, not that I encourage anyone to do so, in fact, I'd like to see people go out and vote. But today, due to personal reason, I can't go out and vote.

Good luck to all the candidates, and my our country be lucky this time around..

Tech Link (Processor): sub-$400US quad cores emerging

I saw this posted over at XS and I figure it's worth letting you guys know as well. This Intel® Core™-based Intel® Xeon® X3200 series processors are really great quad core processors, and in my experience and testing, they are a lot better than Intel® Core™ 2 Quad in terms of voltage and temperature. If you haven't seen it yet, you may want to check out my Article: The Little Intel® Xeon® X3210 that could!. Expand to read more...

The Xeon DP X3210 s775 is emerging and available at some places for awesome prices. Remember: Q6600 price cuts aren't too far off

EU:
http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/150359/Intel-Xeon-X3210-(S775-4x-2.13GHz-8MB-1066MHz-FSB-Boxed)-prijzen.html
http://geizhals.at/eu/a238093.html
US
http://www.google.com/products?q=X3210&btnG=Search+Products&scoring=p&sa=N&start=10

Source:sub-$400US quad cores emerging

Tech Link (Industry): Interview with Lead Architech for Penryn and Nehalem

HexusTV has an interview posted about the upcoming processors (Penryn) and next major microarchitecture introduction (Nehalem). In the interview, they mentioned the performance improvement derived from process and uA changes. Check it out, see and hear what's next in store for you directly from the horse's mouth!

Get the low-down on Intel's forthcoming Penryn and Nehalem straight from the guys who designed them - Stephen Fischer and Mark Buxton. We gave them a grilling at Intel Developer Forum in China.

Source:Interview with Lead Architech for Penryn and Nehalem

Tech Link (Coolers) OCZ Vindicator: Scythe Ninja Clone or New Proprietary Design?

XbitLabs has a short article up about the giants in enthusiast community: OCZ and Scythe. XbitLabs author did a great job getting the messages straight from the horses mouth. Expand to check out what the conclusion is..

A few days ago we posted a review of the new cooling solution from OCZ Technology – OCZ Vindicator. If you have read the article you remember that we stressed several times the resemblance between this solution and another popular cooling product – Ninja cooler from Scythe Company. The same feedback comes from many users who have had a chance to compare these two solutions.

Today we were contacted by Scythe representative, Andreas Bunen, who provided us with the official statement regarding the above mentioned resemblance that confuses reviewers and users. Here it is:

"Scythe is a stock holder of the factory where we produce our coolers, and also the factory is a stock holder of the Scythe Taiwan office where we have a very tight relationship almost as close as a group company. Within this relationship we are acknowledged and aware of all shipments done from the factory. But OCZ is not one of them. With the above said, we are definitely sure that OCZ coolers are manufactured in another factory. The only components that are common between the two are the hex caps on the heat pipes, which are supplied outside of our cooler factory.

We also have not approved OCZ's design in any form or shape, nor did we receive any OEM request. Their products are just a simple copy of Ninja and we are currently being troubled by this untrue rumor."
As we see, Scythe Company denies any relation between Vindicator and Ninja claiming that OCZ has copied the design of their successful solution. Of course, we couldn’t help asking OCZ Technology to comment in return. Here is what Alex Mei, Executive VP and CMO of OPCZ Technology Group had to say:

"The OCZ Vindicator is in no way affiliated with the Scythe offering, and makes use of our own designed fin array to deliver another option for consumers. We make use of our own expertise in thermal design and have created an enlarged array providing more surface area. The Vindicator is produced at a completely separate manufacturing facility as the competitor offering, and done so to our own set of exacting standards. In the future you can expect many more enthusiast cooling solutions that will be increasingly differentiated, and even make use of patented technologies."
As this comment suggests, OCZ did use Ninja design as a basis having introduced slight modifications to it. Nevertheless, Scythe seems to be reacting very calmly to this matter. Both coolers are of similar efficiency and are currently selling at comparable prices.
You can read more on their practical performance in our review called OCZ Vindicator CPU Cooler Review: When the Copy is As Good As the Original.

Source:OCZ Vindicator: Scythe Ninja Clone or New Proprietary Design?
OCZ and Scythe Officials Argue

Press Release: Multitude Of Innovations Boost New Intel-Based Laptops

This is very exciting times for laptop FanBoy like me. Among the features that I am drooling over is first and foremost, improved processor with 800MHz FSB, 802.11n, and using the high performance i965 chipset. This is a total senses overload. Check out the official message from Chipzilla...

Multitude Of Innovations Boost New Intel-Based Laptops

NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2007 ? Faster processors and chipsets. Great-looking video and graphics. Stronger and faster wireless signals. Better security and manageability. Designed for energy efficiency to enable great battery life. An option to turbo-speed boot time and software application loading.

Intel Corporation today announced a host of new technologies, including faster Intel® Core™2 Duo processors, for its latest-generation Intel® Centrino® processor technology used in notebook PCs for consumers and businesses.

More than 230 Intel Centrino Duo and Intel Centrino Pro processor technology-based designs from PC manufacturers, resellers and integrators around the world are expected to take advantage of these and other features this year. Notebooks will come in a plethora of shapes and sizes, with designs ranging from fully loaded, 17-inch wide-screen models ideal for entertainment to tiny, energy-saving notebook PCs that weigh less than three pounds.

"When we introduced Intel Centrino 4 years ago, Intel changed the computing landscape with our mobile innovations," said Mooly Eden, Intel vice president and general manager, Mobile Products Group. "Now, simply said, we have improved virtually all aspects of Intel-based notebooks, the most popular and fastest growing computing market segment in the world."

At the heart of the new Intel Centrino Duo and Intel Centrino Pro processor technology-based notebooks is the next-generation of Intel's highly acclaimed Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, which delivers breakthrough mobile performance and responsiveness for demanding business users and consumers alike. Users will experience improved performance when running multiple applications simultaneously such as downloading a video clip while doing a virus scan. Additional power management features will continue to enable users to have the great battery life they have come to expect with an Intel-based notebook PC.

In addition, the Mobile Intel® 965 Express chipset family with Intel® Clear Video Technology enables an enhanced high-definition video experience. Users can also share their content with family and friends via TV easier than before with Intel® TV Wizard, which is a simplified way to connect to HD-enabled TVs. A new suite of drivers delivers robust and outstanding Windows Vista* Premium experience featuring Windows Aero*.

In order to download or upload digital content faster from the Internet, the available Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N provides 802.11AGN WLAN capability and allows users more freedom to do more, delivering up to five times the performance for such tasks as downloads and twice the wireless access range.

Intel® Turbo Memory is an optional feature, unique to Intel technology, that can access frequently used software applications twice as fast and reduce the amount of time it takes to turn on, or boot-up, a laptop by as much as 20 percent. In turn, these faster speeds save on power consumption and increase battery life.

Notebooks That Mean Business
With a new brand specifically for business users, Intel Centrino Pro processor technology will adopt the innovative and popular features found in desktop business PCs today with Intel® vPro™ processor technology. IT departments will be able to reliably manage both desktops and notebooks and deal with what plagues them most ? security threats, cost of ownership, resource allocation, and asset management ? and do so wirelessly.

One of the key innovations designed in Intel Centrino Pro ? Intel® Active Management Technology ? provides business-class notebook PCs with wireless PC management, protection and remote repair work thereby increasing productivity, IT savings and uptime.

Smaller, Quieter and Stylish Desktop PC Designs
Intel will also use this new mobile technology foundation for a variety of smaller, quieter and high-performing consumer desktop PC designs. These computers will enable crystal clear audio, better graphics and sharper video playback and optionally include integrated 802.11n wireless support and Intel Turbo Memory.

These stylish PCs, when equipped with Intel® Viiv™ processor technology, enable consumers with notebooks based on Intel Centrino Duo processor technology and Intel® Media Share Software to browse, stream or download media files via a wireless home network. Additionally, users can save content to their Intel Centrino Duo processor technology-based laptop to enjoy their media content while on the go.

Intel expects hundreds of notebook models in a range of prices to be widely available now. For detailed Intel product pricing, visit www.intel.com/go/processor_pricing. Additionally, a range of consumer desktop PC designs based on the Intel Core™ 2 Duo processor and Intel® Viiv™ processor technology are also available now.

View the complete Intel® Centrino® processor technology press kit at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/centrino.

Source:Multitude Of Innovations Boost New Intel-Based Laptops

Brag: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 is on the loose...

Boredome finally dawned on me and I decided to play with a quad core, not the extreme series, but your typical Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600. I still haven't pushed it to any kind of overclocking, but I guess I'll start it once I got an inspiration.

Anyway, like I said, bored, bored, bored and so not even a speck of benchmark for this baby. I'll try to put it to its paces this weekend so stay tuned (and if I forgot, just ping me). You may want to click on the image to visit the validation, that's all for now, FanBoy out...

Tech Link (Industry): Conan Visits Intel

This is totally hilarious. I really like it when he "Karate Chop" one of the employees inside the manufacturing floor. And his comments about the work environment is just a killer, funny funny stuff! Check it out...

Update (05/10/2007): Apparently, the link was pulled down due to some unknown issue, but it was brought back up again. So you can stop sending email to me now and enjoy the show...



Source:Conan Visits Intel

Brag: dm got recognized by OCZ!

I have been meaning to post it, but for some reason, I missed it!!! Anyway, I just want to brag that I have been recognized for contributing outstanding scores for the OCZ Benchmarking Team. Being on the frontpage of a world-reknowned overclocking website is a great accomplishment for me. I emphasized my name below, yay for me! And oh, I did take a screenshot of the news post too. Update: OCZ news article has been archived at: http://ocz.com/consumer/company/newsroom/newsletters/report.php?id=361

OCZ Benchmarking Team Hits 12th Place Ranking Worldwide!
2007-05-01

Starting out with literally nothing a mere month ago, OCZ’s very own benchmarking team has reached a top world ranking. The twenty members led by “Rgone” consistently hit top ten HWBOT rankings in nearly all categories. Supplied with initial samples from the OCZ cooling, memory, and power supply lineups, the team took dedication to the next level and spent hours tweaking and benchmarking.

It all paid off with the numerous personal awards and the collective global rank each team-mate has contributed to…they have truly made OCZ proud! For all you overclockers out there who love to compete, why not join the OCZ forums and benchmark to win some top hardware in the process?

For more information on the HWBOT benchmarking competition and Team OCZ please visit www.hwbot.org.

Official Team Benchmarkers:
Rgone, Raja, Burlnutt, MarcusDelirious, Ryder, Tony, Praz, Nutcase, Logann26, NicoOCZ.

End Users:
DaveT, dm, RuloXP, Flasker, tony929292.

CONGRATULATIONS GENTELMEN!

###

Source:OCZ Benchmarking Team Hits 12th Place Ranking Worldwide!

Tech Link (Chipset): P35 "Bearlake": Asus P5K Deluxe and Gigabyte P35-DS3R Preview

While NDA for the chipset and actual products hasn't been lifted off yet, actual product pictures are now circulating around the net for some exposure. Of course, the missing piece across these product showcase are performance numbers. But hey, if you really like to see some early numbers, you can head on over here and here. For those asking me if I will still buy motherboard based on i965, the answer is it depends. If I already have a motherboard with this chipset, then I won't be buying another one based on the same, but will jump over to the newer one. However, if I still don't have any board based on this chipset and I need a new board now, then yes, I'm all over it. Anyway, check out the article over at neoseeker for some product tour of Gigabyte's and Asus' offerings of upcoming board.

Conclusion
While I'd love to tell you more about the P35 chipset, and Gigabyte's interesting P35-DS3R, along with the ASUS P5K family, those pesky little NDA's requires us not to reveal more until those NDA's are lifted.

But don't worry.

I'll be putting the P35, with both DDR2 and DDR3 memory through some serious torture testing to find out how well the P35 and DDR2 & DDR3 perform.

Frankly, I can hardly wait to find out if Intel has managed to outdo its excellent P965 chipset; and how well Gigabyte and Asus did on their first P35 implementations.

Source:P35 "Bearlake": Asus P5K Deluxe and Gigabyte P35-DS3R Preview

Tech Link: 10 Reasons It Doesn’t Pay To Be “The Computer Guy”

I don't really fully agree with everything the author at LifeReboot says, but as a "just another computer guy" myself, I understand him and his article a lot. Come to think of it, a lot of his concerns have merit when I think about my friends who works as an IT support. Anyway, check it out, it's an interesting read, if you can relate to it...

I only met my brother’s ex-girlfriend’s family once — the year they invited our family over to share Thanksgiving dinner. Since we were basically a group of strangers looking to make a good first impression, the table conversation was nothing more than friendly idle chitchat.

When I asked our hostess for more mashed potatoes, she took the opportunity to ask me about myself while dishing out my second helping — “So Shaun, what do you do for a living?”

Hesitantly, I responded: “I work in computer support.”

The transition to silence was immediate. All eyes suddenly turned to me, raised eyebrows all around. If you hadn’t heard my response, judging from everyone’s reaction you might think I said something outrageous like I was a male stripper or a gynecologist — but I knew the awkward silence would soon be broken by an overwhelming outpouring of computer questions.

“Oh wow, a computer guy!” — “So you know how to remove spyware and viruses and stuff, right?” — “Our family computer is really slow, I think it has a virus.” — “Do you have a business card, or can I get your number?”

I politely and patiently answered their questions, hoping that we’d exhaust the subject in a matter of minutes and then move on to something else. As it would turn out, my hopeful prediction was very wrong — the gentleman sitting next to me scooted his seat closer to me to begin an interrogation.

This man I was meeting for the first time must’ve truly believed that I was going to help him with his problem at that very moment. It didn’t matter how uninterested I looked or sounded, he was convinced that I must know the answer he’s looking for and he was determined he would get it.

Situations like this one were common for me. I’ve had eavesdropping strangers approach me with questions about their computer while I was eating in a restaurant. I’ve had oblivious coworkers step in front of me in a buffet line to tell me about their computer problems while I was serving myself food. I’ve had neighbors who spotted me from their window rush outside to coax me into working on their home computer while I was walking to the corner market. My knack for solving people’s computer problems had become so well-known among my neighborhood that these circumstances were near impossible to avoid.

You might be thinking, “So why complain? If your help is in high demand, why not embrace your talents and charge people for your time?”

I tried to for seven years. I’ve worked in the computer industry in various ways — help desk support, web design, consulting and sales, field technician, freelance computer specialist, and whatever other fancy name you want to give “the computer guy.”

I stopped enjoying it. There were certainly times when I enjoyed myself, but most of those times were when my computer talents were still developing. Once I stopped learning new things on the job, I would become fidgety and want to move on to something else.

From my career-hopping experiences in the computer industry, I’ve become acquainted with the Top Ten Reasons it doesn’t pay to be the computer guy:

Reason #10 - Most Of Your Accomplishments Are Invisible
The computer guy never hears anyone tell him, “I just want to let you know … everything is working fine!”

The reality is that people call the computer guy when something is wrong.

As a computer guy, if you work really hard to make everything work the way that it should, and things work fine, then people believe you don’t do anything. Everything you manage to get working correctly or do perfectly will forever remain unnoticed by computer users. They’ll only ever notice that you do anything when something isn’t working correctly, and you are called upon to fix it.

Reason #9 - Every Conversation You Have Is Roughly The Same
When the computer guy dares to mention what he does for a living, the typical response is, “I have a question about my home computer…”

Or when the computer guy first hears about a widespread problem within the computer network he’s responsible for, he can barely begin to assess the problem before a dozen other people call to report the same problem.

Or when the computer guy explains a certain process on a computer to a user who is incapable of retaining the process, he will inevitably need to reinstruct the user of this same process — indefinitely.

Reason #8 - You’re An Expert Of Bleeding-Edge Technology Products, Aren’t You?
The computer guy often finds himself in situations where someone is asking him for advice on a pending investment of the technological variety.

“I heard about (some hardware or software product) that can do (something desirable) for me. I brought you these (advertisements/reviews/printouts) because I wanted your recommendation. Which would you buy?”

Although the inquiring person sincerely trusts the computer guy’s judgment over their own, in almost every instance the real objective of these meetings is to ensure their own immunity from making a risky purchase.

If it turns out to be a bad investment, and they cannot get (the hardware or software product) to do (anything desirable), then you will be their personal scapegoat — “But honey, the computer guy said I should buy it!”

Reason #7 - Your Talents Are Forcibly Undervalued
Thanks to the constantly declining price of new computers, the computer guy cannot charge labor sums without a dispute. If he asks to be paid what he is worth, he will likely be met with the “why not buy new?” argument.

That is, desktop computers are always getting smaller, faster, and cheaper. It’s possible to purchase a new desktop computer for under $400. If the computer guy spends five hours fixing a computer and wants $100/hour for his time, his customer will be outraged, exclaiming “I didn’t even spend this much to BUY the computer, why should I pay this much just to FIX it?”

Reason #6 - You’re Never Allowed A Moment’s Peace
The computer guy is so prone to interruption that he rarely finds an opportunity to work on his own problems. This is because:

1. Computers never sleep.
2. Computer problems aren’t scheduled.
3. Every problem takes time to diagnose.
4. The computer guy can only give one problem his full attention.
5. Each user believes their problem deserves attention now.

Consequently, the computer guy has a 24/7 obligation to keep critical computer systems running, while simultaneously juggling everyone’s problems. He’ll often need to forfeit any opportunities to tend to his own needs for the sake of others — because at any moment, of any day, he can be interrupted by someone who wants to make their problem his problem.

Reason #5 - People Ask You To Perform Miracles
The computer guy is often mistaken for someone who possesses the combined skills of an old priest and a young priest. I’ll sum this up easily by example:

“No, I really can’t recover any files from your thumb drive, even if you did find it after it passed through your dog.”

Reason #4 - Your Assumed “All-Knowing” Status Sets You Up To Let People Down
There is no common understanding that there are smaller divisions within the computer industry, and that the computer guy cannot be an expert in all areas. What makes things worse, is when the computer guy attempts to explain this to someone asking for help, the person will often believe that the computer guy is withholding the desired knowledge to avoid having to help.

This is somewhat related to the next reason:

Reason #3 - You Possess Unlimited Responsibility
The computer guy is expected to solve problems. It is difficult to determine the boundaries of that expectation.

Some of the oddest things that I’ve been asked to do include:

1. Use pirated software to undelete important company files.
2. Create an Intranet, after explaining I didn’t know how to.
3. Teach someone how to hide their pornography collection.

Solving problems can range from replacing batteries in a wireless keyboard to investigating why the entire building loses power at the same time every morning. Resolutions can necessitate weaving a 50-foot cable through a drop ceiling, or wriggling under a house on your belly to add an electrical outlet.

Reasons #4 and #3 boil down to this: no matter how often you want to play the role of a hero, there will always be circumstances that test the limits of your ability to be one. It’s difficult to judge when helping someone means doing something immoral, and it’s even harder to admit you are unable to solve someone’s problem — and chances are, that someone will view you as incompetent because you were unable to help them.

Reason #2 - A Life Of Alienation
People only talk to the computer guy when they need him to fix something. Also, when the computer guy approaches a user, they’ll hop up out of their chair under the presumption that he’s there to fix something — as if it would never be expected that he only wants to strike up a conversation.

The fact that the computer guy never gets a moment’s peace can also practically force him to withdraw into solitude. His co-workers don’t understand that he doesn’t want to hear about their computer problems during his lunch hour — he does that every other hour of the day. That’s why the computer guy eats lunch alone with his door closed, or goes out to eat every day — not because he’s unfriendly, but because he needs to escape the incessant interruptions.

Reason #1 - You Have No Identity
It’s an awful experience when the computer guy shows up at a neighbor’s doorstep with a plate of Christmas cookies, only to have the child who answered the door call out, “Mom, the computer guy is here!” He begs for an identity that is not directly associated with computers, but “the computer guy” label walks ahead of him — it simply cannot be avoided. I was given a name and I’d love to be addressed by it.

Having read these reasons, you may believe that I’m complaining. It’s true that I was upset with many aspects of my life as the computer guy, but I’m past the point of complaining.

I took a good hard look at my existence and realized that things were not likely to change in the line of work I had chosen. Instead of just complaining, I took action and began making positive changes in my life.

Working in the computer industry isn’t for everybody. It wasn’t for me. I’ve compiled my reasons for putting it behind me and placed them here, so that anyone who is unsatisfied with their life working in computers might recognize it’s not for them either.

Source:10 Reasons It Doesn’t Pay To Be “The Computer Guy”

Tech Link (Overclock): Overclocking at Intel

Who would have thought that Intel will be more accepting of the overclocking community? In the past, Intel has made a very strong stance against overclocking, and I believe they still are not that "open" when it comes to this field but they are more and more more open at supporting ad-hoc extreme tests. FUGGER of XS has a sticky thread over at XS about the XUG with which Intel invited known enthusiasts and discussed about overclocking and technology that goes with it.

While I don't see Intel becoming more relax with dead processors due to overclocking, I see Intel taking advantage of the expertise of the enthusiasts and get an "outsiders' point of view" with how the processors perform, under extreme conditions. Anyway, enough of my ranting, check out the article over at NordicHardware or expand the news post for an excerpt of the article.

Introduction

At the launch of Intel's first Quad-core processor Core 2 Extreme QX6700 we decided to take a closer look at it. That was far from everything we wanted to do with it though, and in the true spirit of NordicHardware we decided that to do things a bit more unorthodox. Robert 'crotale' Kihlberg and Marcus 'Kinc' Hultin are both famous for their overclocking skills and numerous worlds. Accompanied by ex-overclocker and assisting editor in chief Andreas 'Delph1' Galistel they would test Intel's new processor under completely different circumstances, but not at the homes of any of the X-legends but Intel's very own labs.

Source:Overclocking at Intel

Article: The Journey with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6320, The Last Ditch Effort for 100% overclock (Part IV)

Being the fourth and final installment of the article, I will share my benchmarks and notes about my attempt to bring this processor to new overclocking heights on air. If you haven't read up on it yet, make sure to check out the previous installments here (3rd), then here (2nd), and first installment here. Expand to read the continuation...

The 500MHz wall has been breached already, and at this kind of overclocking, there's no other way but up. The motherboard, processor, and memory are all operating way beyond their stock settings, and at the brink of hitting the wall. But this is not an excuse to stop, as I have stated from the start that I will push the processor farther than my earlier attempt. I am now focusing my attention of breaching 100% overclock. It's daunting to say the least, unless I use better aftermarket cooling device, this is looking more and more impossible. As much as I am a chicken in overclocking, I have just got to try it this time.

::Overclocking and Benchmarking Notes::
Reaching for 100% overclock is certainly not easy, specially with a freaky ambient temperature of 36c, an old unlapped overused Thermalright* XP-90, unmodded Asus* {5B Deluxe and a mere OCZ* DDR2-800MHz Platinum Rev2 memory. The processor and motherboard chipset are both overclocked at ~95% while the memory hits a good 30% overclock at CL5-5-5-15. The processor needed massive voltage of 1.6v just to make it post at 532MHz. After tweaking other settings, 100% overclock is breached! Click on the image for the validation.



However, at 100% overclock, I can't complete any kind of 3D benchmarks save for Aquamark 3, only 2D benchmarks are working fine. After several tweaking hours, like lowering the multi and loosening RAM timing, or bumping the NB and SB voltage, I gave up and pushed down the overclock to just 520MHz. At this clock speed, it is rock solid, and no benchmark can bring it to a halt. I have added a link to FutureMark ORB for all the 3D benchmarks run as well as PCMark05 for comparison and proof of testament to its rock stability. Click on any of the 3DMark and PCMark05 benchmark to visit the ORB compare link.

::Benchmarks::
Gaming:
Doom3: Low Quality-640x480


3DMark Benchmarks:
3DMark01: Overall


3DMark03: CPU


3DMark05: CPU


3DMark06: CPU


Aquamark03: CPU


Multimedia/Multitasking/Multithreading Benchmarks:
Cinebench: Render Score


Cinebench: Render Time


PCMark05: Overall


SANDRA: CPU


SANDRA: Multimedia


wPrime: 32M


SuperPi: 1M


Memory Benchmarks:
SANDRA: RAM Bandwidth


Others:
WinRAR


Temperature


::Concluding Thoughts on Overclocking Experience::With this final installment, it is clear that the new breed of processor, Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6320, is overclocking nicely compared to its younger brother Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300. The additional 2MB of L2 cache didn't pose any threat to overclockability, but instead helped boost scores by a noticeable margin when benchmarking.

While I am not able to find the maximum clock frequency that the processor can achieve due to limitation, I am quite sure that enthusiats who have more money to burn for better cooling, memory, and motherboard can achieve much higher. Given the problems I encountered with overclocking, I can only conclude that the motherboard and temperature are the two primary culprits that has prevented me from reaching rock stability with 100% overclock.

The Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6320 is an overclocking king like the original Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300, FSB wise and clock frequency wise. Till next, I hope you have enjoyed reading and learning from this article like I have enjoyed testing and tweaking it. FanBoy out...

Press Release: New NVIDIA GeForce® 8800 Ultra Enables World's Fastest Gaming Platform

It's a bit late I know, one day late but better later than never. NVIDIA* released their newest card in preparation to combat whatever AMD/ATi has up their sleeves to release this month. But this new Ultra is going to cost uber high, up there with a high end Intel CPU. For some reason, it is priced so high even with just a frequency bump with no difference compared to existing and current 8800GTZ model in temrs of stream processors (128), texture mapping units (32), raster operations (24) and same memory bus width of 384. Expand to read the official press release...

New NVIDIA GeForce® 8800 Ultra Enables World's Fastest Gaming Platform

For further information, contact:

Brian Burke
NVIDIA Corporation
(512) 401-4385
bburke@nvidia.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SANTA CLARA, CA—MAY 2, 2007

News Facts:

• Today NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) introduced the world's fastest graphics processing unit (GPU), the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra.


• The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra performs an average of between 10 and 15% fasteri than the GeForce 8800 GTX GPU, previously considered the fastest GPU on the planet,ii across a wide range of top games and applications.


• NVIDIA nForce® 680i SLI-based motherboards for Intel processors provide the fastest and most feature-rich platform for the GeForce 8800 Ultra. NVIDIA refers to these systems as the "definitive gaming platform."


• Consumers will be able to experience high-resolution, visually rich gaming and high-definition video playback with support for Blu-ray and HD DVD content.


• Definitive gaming platforms built with any nForce 600 Series motherboard are forward compatible with the new Intel processors with support for 1333FSB technology.

Product Facts:

• Graphics cards equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPU and 768MB of video memory will be available at e-tailers and retailers worldwide by May 15th. NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics card launch partners include Asus, BFG, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision, Leadtek, MSI, PNY, Point of View, Sparkle and XFX.


• Prices range from $829 and higher. GeForce 8 Series GPUs are the first shipping DirectX 10 GPUs and are the reference GPUs for Microsoft DirectX 10 API development.


• GeForce 8800 GPUs are the developer's platform of choice for this year's top DirectX 10 titles, including Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Crysis, Age of Conan, Hellgate: London, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, World in Conflict, BioShock, PT Boats, and Cryostasis.


• Developers creating next-generation OpenGL titles, such as Enemy Territory: Quake Wars are also using GeForce 8 Series as their development platform of choice.


• GeForce 8 Series GPUs include all required hardware functionality defined in the Microsoft Direct3D® 10 specification, with full support for the DirectX 10 unified shader instruction set and Shader Model 4 capabilities.


• DirectX 10 is included with Microsoft Windows Vista and delivers unparalleled levels of graphics realism and film-quality effects for games, all rendered in real-time on a GeForce 8 Series DirectX 10-capable GPU.

Quotes:

Attribute to Ujesh Desai, general manager of desktop GPUs at NVIDIA:
"The definitive gaming platform is built around the fastest components available and today there is no disputing those components include the GeForce 8800 Ultra GPU and an NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI-ready motherboard. The graphics industry evolves extremely quickly and it is quite an achievement when you can leapfrog your own performance milestones in succession like we have done with these GeForce 8 Series GPUs."

Attribute to Glen Robson, general manager of Dell gaming products
"Dell is deeply committed to designing PCs that cater to gamers' needs and desires and offering the latest and greatest GPUs is a key technology differentiator. NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPUs deliver stunning performance gains today and support the key features that will facilitate an awesome visual experience on DirectX 10 titles."

For more information, please visit http://www.nvidia.com or listen to the NVIDIA podcast located at http://download.nvidia.com/podcasts/pr/050207_geforce_8800_ultra.mp3.

Source:New NVIDIA GeForce® 8800 Ultra Enables World's Fastest Gaming Platform

Tech Link (Utility): CPU-Z has been has been updated to the version 1.40

A new version of the popular CPU utility has been released. As is usual and expected from the developer, there are a bunch of updates. The most noticeable though is the new icon. Expand to read what's new on the software...

* VIA P4M800CE chipset support.
* Preliminary support for Intel Penryn CPUs family (45 nm).
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6x20, Pentium E2140/2160 processors recognition.
* Intel P35, G33, G31, Q35, Q33, X38 chipsets support.
* Intel GL960/GM965/PM965 chipsets support.
* AMD Athlon 64 "Lima" processor support.
* AMD Geode LX processor support.
* NVIDIA nForce 520 chipset support.
* New parameter "-console" to generate output in a command prompt (Windows XP only).
* New icon, courtesy of Techlogica

Source:CPU-Z has been has been updated to the version 1.40

Tech Link (Web): Blogger: Digg Banned me for Typing a Number

This is a big news today, well, at least, over at Digg community. Apparently, Digg admins became trigger happy with the ban gun and have deleted several news posting related to some sort of security features. Check it out to understand more about the issue..

A Digg.com user is claiming he got the boot from Digg for posting the HD-DVD AACS Processing Key number to the popular news aggrigation and filtering site. The processing key, a string of numbers only a hacker could love, is key to unlocking copy-protected High Def movies. In other words: it's a DMCA no-no for you to know, citizen consumer.

The number was initially published a couple of months ago, and a Digg.com user posted it to that site yesterday. It promptly, and mysteriously, disappeared. Digg user "chesterjosiah" reposted the story and went to bed. Overnight and today, the story grew to garner more than 15,000 diggs, making it among the most popular stories to ever appear on the site. And then, it vanished, along with chesterjosiah's account.

It's odd for a story to disappear from Digg. Digg works by social aggregation: if something's popular it gets modded up while unpopular stories get modded down. But in this case, Digg.com's editors stepped in and axed both posts. Not that that helped anything.

Instead, Digg's front page is rife with HD-DVD decryption posts, and Digg finally was forced to post an explanation, in essence stating we're sorta kinda terrified of entertainment industry lawyers:

This has all come up in the past 24 hours, mostly connected to the HD-DVD hack that has been circulating online, having been posted to Digg as well as numerous other popular news and information websites. We’ve been notified by the owners of this intellectual property that they believe the posting of the encryption key infringes their intellectual property rights. In order to respect these rights and to comply with the law, we have removed postings of the key that have been brought to our attention.

The post was mum on the banzoring, but it did allude to Digg's terms of service. Digg users reactions to the explanation have been largely apopletic, with a little bit of indignance thrown in for good measure and, of course, a fair number of commenters just went ahead and reposted the key itself.


Photo via Cafepress.com

Source:Blogger: Digg Banned me for Typing a Number

Article: "Spiderman 3" - a FanBoy's take on the movie...

After securing the tickets and waiting for months, I finally got to see the movie! I have been edgy and pretty much excited on watching this that I really skipped reading the previews and early critics or anything related to Spiderman. I don't like any spoiler, I'd like to see the movie for myself and post my thoughts. So today, I just saw it. What's my verdict? Read on to find out...

I. Background
It's no suprise that Spiderman 3 will pick up where Spiderman 2 left off. There's a trail of Spiderman 1 history lessons as well, as the battle continues between Harry and Peter Parker. Hey, don't tell me you never really know the friction between the two "best friends".

Aside from that, there are several new characters that are introduced into the movie. For the super villains, Venom appears and another super villain is Sandman. I am particularly interested with what's going to happen with Mary Jane's ex-BF in part Spiderman 2 but he never made an appearance. Now, I am focusing my attention with Peter Parker's beautiful lab mate.


II. Storyline
To be frank, I am quite confused with this movie. For one, during the early part of the movie, I am focused on how Sandman will affect Peter Parker's life. My focus, because of how the movie started, is all about this Sandman guy. But as the story unfolds, it's all about the seemingly unbroken ties between the original characters: Peter, MJ, Harry, and yes Aunt May(??).

The heart of the story never really deviates from the first two, it's all about the battle within Spiderman himself. In Spiderman 1, he is just trying to discover his self, and lay down the foundation of story for Spiderman 2 and eventually, Spiderman 3. But still, Spiderman 1 also shows his inner battle, that is the struggle between power and the responsibility that goes with it. In Spiderman 2, again, it's an inner battle, that is to forgive himself and to actually know what he really wanted to be: hero or normal guy. In Spiderman 2, it's very easy to catch the storyline, and it also solidify Harry Osborne's position as the next super villain. Spiderman 3 is again, a battle within himself, his darkside that has been trying to get out. The super villains, like Green Goblin in Spiderman 1, Doc Oc in Spiderman 2, and now Sandman in Spiderman 3 are just spices to the movie. Well, not that I expect too much from them, they did lay the foundation as I said earlier.



III. Characters
I love the characters and their portrayal in the movie. I love Harry Osborne, I always love the guy, even from the start of the series. I just feel bad about him on this movie, it's a major letdown actually. I wish it could have been written differently, but I guess there's no room for two heroes on NY city so he has to go.

Spiderman / Peter Parker - the soft spoken, good tempered Peter Parker returned as his usual self with a twist: showing the evil part of his humanity and how vulnerable he is even as Spiderman. I like the acting as usual, but he has a lot of idle moments which adds to the dragging sensation that I felt.

MJ / Mary Jane Watson - Good acting as usual, not much to ask from her except, she really needs to look more beautiful. Her fangs are lovely, I'd love to be bitten by her, but at her young age, I am bit worried at how bad she looks when she's really not in a good mod (meh). No wet look this time around though, sigh...

Green Goblin II / Harry Osborne - My all time favorite character. He's one cool guy, literally, even when he turned into an antagonist. He redeemed himself in the end though. He has a better outfit now, more black than green. His mask isn't the same as the original Green Goblin which covers the whole face, Harry the Green Goblin looks more like a modern Ninja, yay for Harry.

Sandman / Flint Marko - His lips are scary, the face so square you won't really mistook him for a vilain. But inside his strong and rugged visage is a heart of man, a father, who only wants good things for his daughter.

Venom / Eddie Brock - I never liked the guy, and that's what makes his acting great. He is able to really let me feel that he is such a jack ass. I'd love to see him in other movies as a naughty guy or in a similar character.

IV. Costumes, Effects(FX), and Battle Scenes
The movie shows the strength of CGI. Sandman is a scene to behold, and the transformation of Eddie Brock into Venom is amazing. I liked the smooth sailing Spiderman, webbing his way across the city block.

For battle scenes, the highlights is between Spider Man and Green Goblin tag team versus Venom and Sandman tag team. The protagonist composed of mutation and technological power hose, while the other is about the freak team.

I can't believe how weak Sandman is compared to all the other characters of the series, while Venom is just so amazingly unbalanced. Too bad, they got defeated, I'd like to see them go down, but not like that.



V. Verdict and Conclusion
While I love this installment of the series, it pales in comparison to the other two, specially Spiderman 2. The story seems weak, and not that "smooth" as it appears more like tattered rags patched all together. There's a twist and turn, but other than shallow mysteries, it's just that. If you are a serious fan, then you should watch this one. However, if you just want to past the time, then better check other movie reviews.